

Living Above the Frost Line is a dwelling place for practicing poets. It is the home of poet, Nancy Simpson. Above the Frost Line we give ourselves some extra growing time. Yes, we know the hard freeze will come, but until it arrives, we shall grow and share our poems.


THE MOLE ON THE PAVEMENT
by Nancy Simpson
We thought you loved the dark,
thought you had a good life
in your underground world,
but we learned different
early this morning
finding you frozen,
your thick hands held out.
We had nothing to give you
so we pretended piety
and walked away rationalizing:
He thought he could dig through asphalt.
He forgot mornings are cold here.
He wanted to live on the other side.


Nancy Simpson says: Hello Followers. Heather McHugh was the poetry professor I worked with in the Warren Wilson M.F.A. Writing Program.

Congratulations to Heather McHugh for receiving the $500,000. Mac Arthur Fellowship Award. Read more.
Thanks to the blogpoesy galorefor this news. Blogpoesy
reports:
"I’m delighted to learn that Heather McHugh, published in 32 Poems, won aMacArthur (aka genius grant) fellowship. The poem we published by McHugh is entitled “Ill-Made Almighty” and was republished in Best American Poetry. I’ve been reading her since a mentor during my college years lent her book to me, and it’s a thrill to have published her and to see her win this life-changing award of $500,000."
From the press release:
This past week, the recipients learned by a phone call out of the blue from the Foundation that they will each receive $500,000 in “no strings attached” support over the next five years. MacArthur Fellowships come without stipulations and reporting requirements and offer Fellows unprecedented freedom and opportunity to reflect, create, and explore. The unusual level of independence afforded to Fellows underscores the spirit of freedom intrinsic to creative endeavors. The work of MacArthur Fellows knows neither boundaries nor the constraints of age, place, and endeavor.
The sensuous words of Glenda Beall’s poems carry the reader into unforgettable landscapes: the richly textured scenes of the rural south and those of the human spirit with its joys, challenges, and yes, its music.
Janice Townley Moore, author of Teaching the Robins, and winner of the Press 53 Poetry Award for 2009
Ballet in the Piney Woods
Little girl sunsuits littered the wiregrass.
Summer warmed small bronze bodies
that danced on the stage of a fallen oak,
to songbirds’ music from the mayhaw.
They felt, at five, the kiss of butterflies
upon their eyes, breathed honeysuckle air.
Like sylphs set free they twirled, arms open,
gathering the breeze against their bareness.
Chastised for their boldness by older girls
who barged into their glade,
the innocents saw themselves
and were ashamed.
Lift Your Glass
From the vineyard,
she burst forth
with a hint of blush,
a touch of dew
upon her cheek.
Battered by winds, rain and time,
rooted deep, she toughens
to a satiny sheen.
Finally, crushed by adversity
she emerges, life's
finest nectar.
Drink a toast to woman.
Previously published in Red Owl Magazine, 1999)
Here is more Glenda Counci Beall pubishing information.
Poems:
"Big Sur" - Storyteller magazine 1996
Finishing Line Press is now taking orders for Glenda Council Beall's poetry chapbook, N.C. Poet Laureate Kathryn Stripling Byer says of this book:

Violent Scene from Yellowstone’s Valiant Wild
A young male strode down the mountainside,
crossed the road, strutted into shallow waters
of the Gallatin river. He stalked the old bull elk
on the other side.
Grazing alone in burned out woods, the herd master
ignored the gauntlet for a while, then like a rattler
striking, charged from the bank. The clash of antlers
cracked like breaking pines in an ice storm, rolling sound
upstream and down. Silently I cheered the scarred-back leader.
On land once more, the battle halted
while both tried to maneuver bony-branched horns
between the lodge poles. A minute’s rest
then back into the current.
Strong hind quarters, taunt neck muscles, bunched
like iron cables, pushed, retreated, up and down
the icy stream. The match wore on for more
than twenty minutes.
Heads low, antlers commingled like old bones
collected in a basket, until the young stud forced
his aging foe beneath the water’s surface, held him there.
The veteran of a life of valiant clashes
broke free at last, crashed and splashed
downstream bleating like a lamb who's lost his mother.
Posing for cameras on the roadside,
the victor, centered in the roaring river,
raised his head and shook his massive rack,
bugled his triumphant call to his new harem.
Mountain Seagull
Mountains stretch like layers,
Payne's Grey parchment,
growing fainter
as they reach toward
pale cerulean sky.
The Bald pokes its head
up through a cottony mist.
Lake Chatuge wraps the mountains,
lapping love, cool in coves
tucked tightly between peaks.
Sailboats, triangles, red and yellow
wrapping paper, swiftly blow
before the wind that rustles
maples, locust trees
where songbirds rest.
My spirit soars above the scene
a seagull far from home,
But yearning to embrace
and build a nest.
Two Poems by Glenda Council Beall
In this her birth month, Living Above the Frost Line celebrates Glenda Council Beall as Poet of the Month of October.Raised on a farm in southwest Georgia in the late forties and fifties with four brothers and two sisters, Glenda finds memories from childhood come to surface in her writing. She also writes about her husband, Barry, and their forty-five years together.
Glenda graduated from the University of Georgia with a teaching degree. She taught in both private and public school elementary grades. Now retired, she enjoys teaching senior adults who are eager to write their memoirs, family stories, and personal experiences. Glenda says she has taken numerous classes from the excellent instructors at John C. Campbell Fplk School , attended workshops and conferences and has learned the ends and outs of writing and publishing. She will offer two classes at J.C.C.F.S. in 2010.
Her poems have been published in Journal of Kentuky Studies,Georgia Journal, Appalachian Heritage, Main Street Rag and a number of other literary magazines.
Her chapbook, NOW MIGHT AS WELL BE THEN is scheduled for release in October 2009 at Finishing Line Press.
Three Poems by Glenda Council Beall
In The Dark
I lie here in bed, my cheek against your shoulder,
remembering a night, long ago, on your boat.
I was afraid. I felt too much, too fast.
But you were tender, and love crept over us
like silver fog, silent on the lake.
We were never again the same.
We stepped like children through that door that led
to long passages unknown, holding hands, wide-eyed, but brave.
Here I am years later, listening to your soft breath
and feeling your warm smooth skin.
In the dark, now might as well be then.
You Never Meet a Stranger
---for Barry
I watch you and I'm jealous. You talk
to people on the elevator, at the airport
standing in line, at the grocery store
in front of the cucumbers.
You are never lost for words, while I
stand stiff, my eyes averted from
the woman's waiting at the post office
window. I can't think of anything to say.
I fear the person will resent intrusion.
But you — you smile and
burst right in. The stranger's eyes
light up and suddenly she has
become your friend.
The Drive Home
I sit in the driver's seat
watching the ribbon of highway
unfold around each curve.
In the distance grey mountains
loom in misty mounds.
I fiddle with the radio.
Stop when I hear Mozart.
The steering wheel is hard
against my ungloved hands.
No more latex and plastic.
No mask to hide the musty
smell of my old car.
I shed all that inside
your hospital room, and left
without saying goodby,
afraid you'd see finality
in my eyes.
I’ve been associated with the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina for more than fifteen years. I work part time as the resident writer? What does that mean? My main job is to schedule the writing classes, which is done a year to one year and a half years in advance. I’m also asked to help keep the writing studio working. During the year, I teach one poetry class and one creative writing class. Meanwhile, I go there as often as possible. There are always good programs going on, including free exhibits and music programs for the community.
What I like best about my job as Resident Writer is that I get an opportunity to meet many interesting people, both the students and the master writers who come to teach. I have an anonymous quote I hang on the in the studio while I am teaching: “To live for a time with great minds is the best education.” That is the way I feel each time I spend a week at the folk school. Creative energy is shared across the campus. You only have to walk across the grounds of the school to feel creativity in the air. I come home renewed with more creative energy than I can sometimes manage.
At this time all of the 2010 classes are already scheduled. I look at the schedule and I am amazed at the new line up of upcoming classes. There are more classes to choose from and there is something for all student writers with all genres offered. For the first time ever, five different poetry classes will be offered during 2010. One of them is the specially scheduled master class to be held in January taught by Dr. Gene Hirsch.
Check out the list and make your plans. 2009 is winding to an end, but do not wait. There is something you may not know. Each writing classes are limited to eight students. To get a seat, you should study the list and make your decisions as soon as possible.
Writing
At the Folk School, you’ll find one of the most encouraging and supportive writing programs around. Explore writing poetry, fiction, historical accounts, short stories, children’s stories, and more in weeklong and weekend classes. Overcome the blank page, shape your thoughts, and execute your story in written form. You’ll leave inspired to continue writing at home. Ask about 1/2 price if you live in the Folk School area. (Counties listed in catalog)
Instructor: Sue Ellen Bridgers
Writing creatively requires time to look, to listen, to think, to write. This class will provide all four, plus the camaraderie of a writing community, a couple of great short stories to examine for techniques and writing prompts, and spontaneous writing exercises to jump-start creativity. Beginners are welcome.
November 15-20, 2009 $460.00 1 800 Folk-SCH or www.folkschool.org
Creating Children's Picture Books
Instructor: Elizabeth Dulemba
Delve into the art of creating a strong story through plot, tension, characters, and delivery. We'll discuss the difference in writing for children versus adults, and the marriage of images and text. Learn rules of a good critique, then trade manuscripts. Also gain insight into the children’s publishing industry. More ...
December 4-6, 2009 (Weekend) $290.00 1 800 Folk-SCH or www.folkschool.org
ADVANCED WEEK, JANUARY 17-22, 2010
Your Poetry and Your Life-World
Instructor: Gene Hirsch
Delve into relationships between poetry and peoples’ life-worlds. We will study dynamics of recognizing, thinking, and feeling about the meaningful influences that surround us, and how better to write about them. Join us, intermediate to advanced writers, and bring previous poems for exploration. $527.00 1 800 Folk-SCH or www.folkschool.org January 17-22, 2010
More 2010 classes will be posted here soon